Is touchscreen a good idea for laptops?

Touchscreens have lived among us for some time now and I’ve personally never had a laptop with a touchscreen so far. I don’t think I’ll buy one either in the next decade because, to be honest, I don’t get it: if you need a touchscreen, why don’t you buy a tablet? Touchscreen laptops and even 2in1s look like some failed Victor Frankenstein experiment. I just can’t imagine why on Earth would anyone buy a touchscreen laptop.

I’m not talking right now about some 2in1, I’m talking about laptops which have the touchscreen option available like Dell XPS 13 or the Razer Blade 13. If a laptop has a touchscreen but it can’t get into tablet mode like a 2in1, using it will be just a weird experience. Imagine you will have to get your hand all over the keyboard to use the touchscreen. This problem is comfort-related and is the main reason why All in Ones never got popular: their touchscreen is uncomfortable for intensive use.

So, what do we know so far about touchscreen laptops? They are more expensive than their non-touchscreen versions and uncomfortable in daily use scenarios. But is that all? Well, unfortunately not… A touchscreen laptop will always be a dirty laptop. Everyone who has used a touchscreen at least once in their lives knows how dirty a display can get if you touch it. All the fingerprints and grease from your fingers will stick to it like a magnet so why would you need a laptop which will never look nice? Unless you always have some cleaning wipes on you and you don’t mind cleaning that display 10 times a day, you can go for a touchscreen laptop.

But wait, there’s more… According to laptopmag.com, touchscreen laptops run out of juice 15 to 25% faster than non-touchscreen versions. Battery life is very important for mobility and, unfortunately, nobody in the laptop manufacturing industry has been able to solve this problem yet. Of course, things have evolved and today we can buy a Dell XPS with 18 hours of battery life, but we will still need to plug it in for a charge, right? It’s not a huge progress in terms of battery life so trust me, every hour of extra battery counts and it’s not worth the touchscreen compromise.

OK, let’s jump to conclusions: touchscreen laptops are pointless. Unless you go for some 2in1 which can turn into a tablet, there is no reason you would pay more for something uncomfortable in daily use. You will have to clean it daily and plug it in for charging sooner.